Safe and temporarily alone in August of this hideous pandemic year, pianist Fred Hersch played and recorded whatever songs seemed right. Eleven have been selected for Songs From Home, a radiantly beautiful recital that tugs at the heart with its casual elegance and lyricism. The repertoire is quite broad. First up is a stunning rendition of Wouldn’t It Be Loverly, the Lerner and Loewe song from My Fair Lady. That’s followed by an exploration of Jimmy Webb’s Wichita Lineman. Joni Mitchell’s All I Want takes a few surprising rhythmic twists and turns over seven minutes. There are songs by Kenny Wheeler (a pensive look at Consolation (A Folk Song)), Duke Ellington (a magnificent version of the ever-lovely Solitude), and Cole Porter (a jaunty Get Out of Town), and more, including new looks at two Hersch originals before the concluding playful stride piano adaptation of the Beatle’s classic When I’m Sixty-Four. That’s a song with special significance to Hersch, who attained that age in October 2019. There’s something to said in favor of solo piano performances that are recorded at home, on a preferred instrument and in a familiar listening environment. Earl Hines recorded At Home in the fall of 1969 for Delmark Records is the first one that comes to mind. Keith Jarrett’s The Melody at Night, with You (ECM), made in his home studio in 1998, is another. That puts Hersch in some fine company indeed, where this modern master surely belongs. Highest recommendation.
Palmetto PM2197; Fred Hersch (p); somewhere in Pennsylvania, August 2020; Wouldn’t It Be Loverly/ Wichita Lineman/ After You’ve Gone/ All I Want/ Get Out of Town/ Medley: West Virginia Rose, The Water is Wide/ Sarabande/ Consolation (A Folk Song)/ Solitude/ When I’m Sixty-four; 57:18. www.palmetto-records.com
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